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Doug Report Daily Cycling News Archive

UCI stakeholders to meet in Paris for decisive WorldTour reform meeting.

The key stakeholders of men's professional cycling will gather in Paris on Thursday for what could be the decisive meeting to decide the structure and rules of the WorldTour from 2017 onwards, and so shape the long-term future of the sport at the highest level.
The UCI confirmed that the process of restructuring the WorldTour is nearing completion, with a final document to be agreed upon at the UCI WorldTour Seminar in early December.
The reform, which will be fully implemented in 2017, will be instrumental in making cycling more exciting and easy for spectators, broadcasters and sponsors to follow. (cyclingnews.com)

Martinelli: Vincenzo Nibali’s Tour de France cobbles attack ‘showed bravery’.

Vincenzo Nibali‘s attack on the cobbles to Arenberg helped him win the 2014 Tour de France, a bravery missing in cycling at times said Astana Team Manager Giuseppe Martinelli.
“With respect to the past, for sure, yes [it is missing],” Martinelli told Italy’s Ciclo Web.
“You try to get the best result with the minimum effort. Just think, we used to see attacks in the feed zone… Today, no one does that, but not because no one can’t. If they did it, they’d be butchered.” (cyclingweekly.co.uk)

2014 Report Card: AG2R La Mondiale.

For too many years the AG2R La Mondiale team's presence in the peloton has been about as exciting as their investment banker brown and blue kits, but in 2014 they rode as if clad in something considerably brighter.
The French team threw off the shackles of fighting to earn enough points to survive in the WorldTour and employed an assertive, if not aggressive, strategy that provided an impressive return on its investments of the past few years. (cyclingnews.com)

Gould wraps up 2014 season as Iceman Cometh champion .

For the second time in three years, Luna’s Georgia Gould ended her season as the winner of the Iceman Cometh Challenge, the 29-mile point-to-point mountain bike race that celebrated its 25th anniversary Saturday in Traverse City, Michigan.
Gould also won the Iceman Challenge in 2012, coming off her best season to date, a season that brought bronze medals at the Olympic Games and world championships, as well as four World Cup podium appearances. (velonews.com)

2014-15 Races & Results.

Santos Tour Down Under 2015 - Jan 18-25 (Stages),

Dubai Tour 2015 - Feb 4-7 (Stages),

Giro d'Italia 2015 - May 9-31 (Stages),

Tour de France 2015 - July 4-26 (Stages),

UCI Road World Championship 2014 - Sept 20-27 (Results),

Vuelta a España 2014 - Aug 23-Sept 14 (Results),

Tour de France 2014  - July 5-27 (Results),

Giro d'Italia 2014 - May 9 - June 1 (Results),

More...

Cant Continues to Dominate, Nys Finds His Win at Soudal Classics: Full Race Video.

Following her double win this weekend, first in the European Cyclocross Championships, and then a day later in the 2014 Hansgrohe Superprestige Ruddervoorde, Sanne Cant goes three for three with her race yesterday at the Soudal Classics race, Jaarmarkt Cross. Jolien Verschueren of Belgium came in for second almost a half minute behind, while Helen Wyman of Great Britain rounded our the podium in third. (cxmagazine.com)

Schneider, McConnell Thrive in Euro-Style Chicago Cyclocross Cup’s Psi-Clocross for Life Race.

The seventh race in The Chicago Cyclocross Cup (CCC) eleven race series, PSI-clocross For Life – put on by Rob Curtis and the folks from PSIMET – offered a more European style format with some gnarly downhills and grinding power sections. This course at Emricson Park in Woodstock, IL also featured a precarious sand pit and a set of barriers before a steep hill that caused many to test their running skills. Dry conditions kept the laps fast, but the brutal wind zapped watts in the straits. The overall consensus was that everyone loved the course and it’s many features. (cxmagazine.com)

So... How'd Your Race Go? A Cautionary Tale.

"Is there anything crapshootier than the start of a cyclocross race? Sure, you know about the battle for the hole shot, which can get testy, but I can tell you from experience that the back end of the start is even wackier, and if the Seattle Old and Mediocre Guy field makes it a full thirty seconds without a crash, it's a blessing. But we have excuses: we're old, we suck, we don't really care." (podiumcafe.com)

Hayman hoping to bounce back from tough year.

Mathew Hayman is 14 years into his career, but he admits that he still makes “rookie” mistakes. Hence, he has mixed emotions about the success of his first year with Orica-GreenEdge, after spells with the Dutch Rabobank and then British Sky teams.
But after resolving some minor health issues that impaired his 2014 season - including a disappointing abandon in his first Tour de France - finishing the season strongly has given Hayman optimism for next season, which starts in January at the Australian road championships at Buninyong, Victoria and the Tour Down Under in South Australia. (cyclingnews.com)

Brook Watts joins USA Cycling Cyclocross Committee.

Longtime marketing and promotions executive, with more than 35 years of sporting events production experience, Brook Watts, was appointed to the USA Cycling Board of Directors as the Cyclocross Committee Representative. (velonews.com)

How Much Suffering Can You Take?

For $10 a month, cyclists can now can suffer all they want, thanks to The Sufferfest’s new subscription-based app. For those uninitiated to The Sufferfest, it’s not some fringe video production company specializing in cycling S&M. Rather, the videos are high-intensity interval workouts with story lines, soundtracks and footage from races like the Tour de France.
Actually, maybe it is exactly like cycling S&M. (bicycling.com)

Cervelo S5 aero road bike relaunched for 2015.

From a side-on perspective, the new S5 frame looks nearly identical to the old version, but Cervelo has made several changes during the redevelopment of its flagship aero road platform. The most notable are the increase in diameter – and stiffness — of the head tube, a decrease in the head tube height, and the increased tyre clearance to accept 25mm tires. (bikeradar.com)

Chris Froome Rethinks 2015 Tour de France.

Interview Part II: Vincenzo Nibali.

Vincenzo Nibali was often asked about doping at the Tour de France and the questioned and the scrutiny of the ethics of his Astana team intensified when the Iglinskiy brothers tested positive for EPO in the summer and a young Kazakhstani rider who rode as a trainee with Astana in the final part of the season, failed a test while riding the Tour de l'Avenir.
Nibali gives his opinion on the doping cases, and on the barrage of criticism the Astana team has faced. He defends team manager Alexandre Vinokourov in spite of Vinokourov's past - he was suspended for blood doping at the 2007 Tour de France - and says he is favour of the team being part of the MPCC. (cyclingnews.com)

Interview: Hinault on his career, Lance Armstrong, and doping in cycling .

Lance Armstrong has become a stain on the glorious cycling memories of French legend Bernard Hinault, who said he would refuse to speak to the shamed American rider.
Cycling has an unfair reputation over drug-taking, according to the five-time Tour de France winner who marks his 60th birthday on Friday as one of the most popular living Frenchmen.
Hinault told AFP in an interview that he has had a “dream life” in cycling but that doping scandals that have made the sport notorious “hurt all those who love cycling.” (velonews.com)

Haga content with debut season riding for Giant-Shimano.

Chad Haga was like a sponge throughout his rookie season in 2014, soaking up everything he could during his first year in the bigs with Giant-Shimano.
After two productive seasons on the U.S. scene with Optum-Kelly Benefit Strategies, Haga made a relatively seamless transition to the WorldTour.
For Haga, who reached the top level of the peloton through the collegiate racing circuit, joining Giant-Shimano was like Bike Racing 101.
“It’s been really staggering, much more than I could have hoped for,” Haga said. “I didn’t get the win that I was hoping for, but I learned a lot, and I am really looking forward to next year.” (velonews.com)

Majka looking to build on breakout 2014 season.

Following his breakout 2014 season, Rafal Majka can’t wait to get back into the mix for next season.
With two stage victories and the climber’s jersey in the Tour de France, along with the overall at the Tour of Poland, the 25-year-old Majka enjoyed his best season since turning pro in 2011.
“I’m really satisfied with my season. In the previous years, I’ve done well, worked hard for the team and gotten some good personal results. But now I’ve started winning, which was the one thing missing in the past years,” Majka said in a team release. “The team has supported me and I was able to step up.” (velonews.com)

Wiggins' development team to start Olympic legacy.

Bradley Wiggins has spoken further on his plans for the future as he plots a path to the 2016 Rio Olympics Games.
Wiggins is out of contract with Team Sky at the end of this year but negotiations are currently ongoing between the 2012 Tour de France winner and his current team. The current consensus is that Wiggins will ride a heavily reduced road program in 2015 and target select races, such as Paris-Roubaix. (cyclingnews.com)

Lezyne Port-A-Shop tool kit.

BikeRadar verdict: 4 out of 5 stars. "A bit pricey, but great quality and ultra-useful." (bikeradar.com)

How To Be A Cyclist, by John Deering and Phil Ashley.

What it is: A guide to the important things in cycling, like how to ride in a group and what are the rare occasions when you're allowed to drink coffee that isn't black.
Strengths: A pleasant balance of wit and wisdom, served up with some high production values and gorgeous photography. (podiumcafe.com)

Embarrassing cycling problems, and how to prevent them.

Cycling isn’t always smiles and summer Sunday countryside rides. And when it isn’t, it has more issues than a hormonal teenager. We go through these ‘problems’, to not only warn you, but help you to overcome them.
Nobody’s perfect. For the majority of us, there are always going to be little bodily flaws we would like to fix, and slight tweaks we would like to make to ourselves. (cyclingweekly.co.uk)

The Look, the Feel: Specialized Turbo Cotton.

Cycling’s reverence for heritage is strong – from vintage kits and bikes to the idolization of early champions. Typically, a love of vintage product means a love of riding slowly, but very rarely looking back to the way things used to be done actually results in speed.
The natural color of Specialized’s newest tire’s sidewall is one of these rare examples. The Turbo Cotton mates Specialized’s Gripton compound with a 320TPI cotton casing instead of today’s usual nylon casings. The result, according to Specialized, is the fastest tire they have ever made. (pelotonmagazine.com)

7 Ways to Reuse Old Bike Tubes.

Whether it’s a snapped valve, a blowout, or just a patch-on-patch Inception scenario, sometimes there’s just no way to get a tube back on the road again. But that’s no reason all that rubber should be filling up a landfill. Here are seven things to do with your old inner tubes after they’ve retired from active bike duty. (bicycling.com)

eviewed: Specialized Therminal SWAT knicker.

For fall and winter riding, Specialized has introduced a SWAT bib knicker that uses the same handy pockets but with a warmer, micro-fleece-lined material and less mesh. The Therminal SWAT knickers are part of Specialized’s line of Therminal winter gear, which covers road and mountain. (velonews.com)

Interview: Vincenzo Nibali.

BikeSnobNYC: It's Wednesday And I Typed This Entire Post On My Smartphone While Cycling!

Has the biological passport delivered clean or confused sport?

For a sport losing its grip on credibility, the biological passport   was viewed as cycling's saviour and was so good even Lance Armstrong said it "worked".
It was no surprise when athletics, football and tennis said they, too, would start using it.
So why are athletes, from all sports,  still doping? There are 46 people currently serving bans  in the UK alone. (bbc.com)

Doctors that tested Marco Pantani’s Giro d’Italia blood to appear at hearing.

The UCI official and three doctors who examined Marco Pantani‘s anti-doping test at the 1999 Giro d’Italia should be heard in the coming week as part of a Mafia sports fixing case in Forlì, Italy.
A high haematocrit anti-doping test excluded the late Italian cyclist while in the race leader’s pink jersey. The medics reject claims of foul play and told La Provinca newspaper in Como, “We did everything according to the rules.” (cyclingweekly.co.uk)

Why Specialized switched teams and will instead back Boels-Dolmans.

It’s a move that took some by surprise; after three years of backing Kristy Scrymgeour’s successful team, a period where the squad took three world team time trial titles plus many other victories, both Specialized and lululemon confirmed several weeks ago that they would end their title sponsorship at the end of the 2014 season.
The two American companies will instead move across to the Boels-Dolmans team, a squad which includes past Specialized-lululemon rider Ellen Van Dijk, as well as the 2012 Olympic road race runner-up Lizzie Armitstead. (cyclingtips.com.au)

Highlights of 2015 – Part V.

For the final of five pieces picking highlights from 2014, it’s been hard to choose an episode to celebrate, remember and review. It’s not for the lack of racing, there have been plenty of action-packed races and that’s just the ones we can see on TV, a lot of the sport still takes place beyond the reach of video. Rather it’s choosing which event to include.
Peter Sagan might do well to replay his win because it showed him triumphant, forcing the attacks and outsmarting breakaway companions, including an OPQS tandem. A far cry from his hesitant summer and invisible autumn. (inrng.com)

10 lowlights from the 2014 road cycling season.

The 2014 road cycling season is more or less finished but before 2015 rolls around we thought we'd look back on the season that was. A few weeks ago we featured 10 of our highlights from the 2014 road cycling season and today we consider 10 of the lowlights, presented in no particular order. (cyclingtips.com.au)

Top Fives: The best sprinters of 2014.

The great thing about being a sprinter is that with every victory comes the affirmation that you were the best of the bunch. A stage win, a classic, when you’ve got a mass of cyclists in your wake, you are unquestionably the top dog.
But then the scoreboard resets, and unlike any other rider in the peloton you’re out again proving yourself. There are few plaudits for second and third, even less for a top-10. To win, and to win consistently, a sprinter needs the smarts to position himself correctly, the nerve to hold a wheel on millimetre margins, and the raw horsepower to both accelerate away and then hold the field at bay. And with all that, they need the belief, the ego, that they are number one. They must be able to shrug off defeat as an aberration, pick themselves up and go out to win again. (sbs.com.au)

Your training questions answered with Dig Deep Coaching: Part four.

"Over the past few months we've been working with the team at Dig Deep Coaching to help answer your questions about training, nutrition and more. In this fourth instalment Stephen Gallagher and Dan Fleeman from Dig Deep answer another bunch of your questions, providing insight that everyone can benefit from." (cyclingtips.com.au)

Stephen Roche: Sky move is perfect for Nicolas.

The latest transfer merry-go-round saw the trend for former Team Sky riders and staff to move to Tinkoff-Saxo continue. But as Bobby Julich and Sean Yates were agreeing to terms to join Bjarne Riis and Alberto Contador in Tinkoff’s colors, the announcement of Nicolas Roche’s departure for Sky after two seasons with Riis saw the first reversal of that tendency. (cyclingnews.com)

Vuelta a Espana may end with night stage.

Madrid is looking to emulate its fellow capital Paris by hosting a night stage at the 2015 Vuelta a España, according to a report in AS. The final decision is yet to be made but it looks likely that the Madrid Council and race organisers will agree to a late stage, ensuring that the final podium on September 13 would take place at night
According to the report, the plan is to backdrop the podium with the illuminated Puerta de Alcalá, which is just down the Calle de Alcalá and can be seen from the traditional podium setting inside the Plaza de Cibeles. (cyclingnews.com)

Relax … It’s only detraining: Time off the bike may help you go faster.

"It really hurts to hurt that much. It was the end of October, and I was climbing with a very talented up-and-comer. Fortunately for me, he was still on the “coming up” side of cycling and I had been beating him all season. But now he could see the pained look on my face and asked the dreaded question: “What’s your heart rate?”
Earlier that month, I had raced the UCI 1.2 Tour of Tobago. My form had been great. I was putting out numbers I hadn’t seen in years and was holding my own against European and American pros. Now, only three weeks later, I was dying on a training ride. I grunted aloud my insanely high heart rate, hoping he wouldn’t hear. But his eyes lit up, and I swear he licked his lips. We both knew what was coming; I was about to get pummeled.
Our bodies detrain depressingly fast." (velonews.com)

Oakley and Cadel Evans collaborate on ‘Future of Cycling’ concept.

Purely a design concept for the moment, Oakley has just unveiled its ‘Future Sport Project video series’ which sees Cadel Evans and ‘4DESIGN’ (an Australian industrial design firm) collaborate on a futuristic handlebar design that doubles as a bike management system.
Clearly, this is more of a marketing campaign than actual ambition to change the future of cycling, but along with illustrating Evans’ passion for design, it raises some interesting technology and design ideas. (bikeradar.com)